Board and Batten Nursery

We had a 10 x 10 foot room to take from Meh to Marvelous for Baby McKevitt. B and I didn’t want to know if Baby McKevitt was a boy or a girl, which worked fine for decor purposes because I had no desire for a gender specific color scheme. The goal was a classic, timeless, theme-less and sophisticated room – one that would grow with the kiddo and add to the Craftsman Cottage appeal of our home.

For quick comparison’s sake, here’s what the room looked like before – a room we used only when we had overflow guests. B’s bachelor pad furniture mixed with some painted white hand-me-downs made it really lovely.

Now back to the afters: I knew what this room would look like long before Baby McKevitt was a reality. I wanted a simple brown and white color scheme with board and batten walls. If I had a dollar for everytime someone said: “Oh, brown and white! That will be so easy to add blue or pink to for a boy or a girl”, Tommy would have had his Notre Dame education paid for before he entered the world. But that was never the plan.

Mr. B did all of the construction and painting – and he did a fabulous job. We didn’t get started on the room until the end of April but he put up the board and batten in a day. He made my vision come to life and I couldn’t love it more.

When it came to buying things for our bundle of joy, I wanted the bare minimum and things that could be used beyond the baby years. So, I didn’t want an actual changing table. And I didn’t want a matching dresser and crib set, either. I hunted for months on Craigslist before finding this antique walnut dresser – for $30. Casco and I raced against every red light in the Denver Metro Area to beat another interested party to the purchase. I intended to refinish whatever I found, but I loved the character on this dresser and left it as is. I honestly think I’ll use this piece forever – in future kids rooms, in front entryways, etc. For midnight feedings, I decided to skip the glider and go with a hardwood rocker to complement the cottage feel of the room. I stole this one out of my mom and dad’s basement storage room – love hand-me-downs.

I believe in accessorizing a room or home as you live, and it didn’t make sense to me to have a fully decorated room for a baby whose sex (and therefore name) we did not know and that hadn’t had a chance to even show a hint of its own personality. So I’m sure that artwork and other personal touches will be added with time, but for now I love the simple basics.

We managed to do the entire room – furniture, wall treatment, paint, etc for just over $500. Here’s the breakdown:

And, of course, every baby needs a soccer playing Golden Retriever guarding its crib. Really. I read it in one of the pregnancy and baby-rearing books.

So that’s Thomas’s room. I think we were successful in not getting pigeon-holed into an overall theme so that the room will grow with Thomas – or work for a sibling of his in the future. And the room gets used – Thomas has slept beautifully in his crib since we came home from the hospital.

Oh, Emily, it’s so gorgeous! I love it! Seriously when I saw the first picture I thought that was the inspiration picture you’d used, and then I realized it was the actual room. Can’t wait to see it in person!

@E Jones – I would totally do a tutorial, but others have done a much better job than I ever could so I’ll just refer you there

Simply: We just installed the battens on top of the drywall and skipped the board part – our walls are textured and it still looks like wainscotting. I used 1/4 inch thick lattice from Home Depot for the battens so that we wouldn’t have to replace our existing baseboards and a 4 inch flat pine board for the plate rail. We installed them 12 inches apart on the wall with a nail gun, painted the lower 2/3s of the wall semi-gloss white to look like trim and called it good.

LOVE it! this will transition so nicely to a big kid room, an office or whatever else as he grows. love the board & batten and the curtains (of course – i have the same ones in green!) and the lack of theme. well done!

This is fantastic! I love everything about it – especially the fact that it will grow with Thomas! And that dresser is perfection.

Is that the Bright Starts automatic bouncer I see in the background? Colton has one and he and I both love it (I didn’t actually love how small the power button was when I couldn’t bend down, but now, LOVE). I hope you and Tommy do to!

I adore this nursery. It truly may be my favorite blog nursery. Not cheesy or them-y like most. (Although in all actuality, I don’t know if I would have the self-restraint to stay away from a theme either.)

Anyhoo…. love the quilt, and I adore it more now that I know that Caroline made it. Seriously? Forget Pottery Barn. And, love the doggie quilt. How fun!

And, finally, I’m totally jealous of the dresser. It’s beautiful and I want it. The wood tone is perfect against that beadboard.

Emily- thanks for the info- seriously, it looks amazing. I can’t believe it was under 200 for molding. When we did LO’s room I avoided it bc all of the quotes I received were over 300. I also forgot to ask where you got that pillow- so cute! Thanks again and congrats on keeping up with the posting and a new born- I know what a challege that is!